Osaka Castle

Ōsaka Castle has the look of a castle from one of Studio Ghibli’s anime movies, especially when contrasted with Himeji Castle, which we’d visit later in our visit. The moat is massive, wide, and I’d fill it with alligators or piranhas for additional protection had either species been available in Japan.  There are actually two moats. Part of the inner moat is dry. The castle’s construction, completed in 1597, was useful in helping the Toyotomi clan fend off an invading Tokugawa army twice its size. In 1868, it had less success during the upheavals surrounding the Meiji restoration. In 1945, US bombing raids destroyed much of the castle, which was used as an armory during WWII. Today’s castle, modernized, inclusive of an elevator, was completed in 1997. Disney’s castle in Florida is much older.

However, as the re-do was kept largely to spec, it is interesting to have a look at what walking through the interior of these massive edifices was like, and how they can be used to survey approaching forces of the past, or today’s city.